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Indigenous Education Strategies in Higher Education 2001-2003

James Cook University

• Objectives
• Consultative Mechanisms
• Current and Continuing Activities
• Planned New Activities
• Performance and Review
• Report on Expenditure
• Contact

James Cook University (JCU) is a regional university operating out of two major campuses located in Townsville and Cairns with smaller sites in Mackay, Mt Isa and Yarrabah. Indigenous enrolments are currently 329 or 3.28% of the total student population. Indigenous Australian students are enrolled in academic programs across all discipline areas of the University. The lower participation rates are seen to reflect the following:

1. Considerable drop in numbers of students accessing tertiary access programs ­ no pre-law program was conducted in 1999 and fewer people accessed the access programs on all campuses. It could be that the pool of people living in the urban areas of Townsville and Cairns who have accessed the program in the past, has diminished. In anticipation of this trend we have converted all of our HuTAC subjects into flexible delivery mode so that we do have something to offer people in rural and remote locations. It will, however, take some time for this option to be taken up.
2. Indigenous peoples have been discouraged from enrolling in university programs as a result of the changes in the ABSTUDY scheme. This particularly impacts upon those who live in rural and remote locations ­ difficult to maintain families ­ and those who were about to enter postgraduate studies ­ simply unable to face the level of poverty to which they would be subjected.

The School of Indigenous Australian Studies (SIAS) is an academic unit, located within the Faculty of Arts, Education and Social Sciences (FAESS). SIAS provides support services for all Indigenous Australian students enrolled in the university and offers the tertiary access courses ­ HuTAC and SciTAC; undergraduate courses - Bachelor of Indigenous Studies, Bachelor of Indigenous Studies (Communications), and postgraduate programs - Master of Indigenous Studies and PhD. As a part of the overarching support role for Indigenous students, SIAS staff collaborate with staff in other faculties and schools to encourage Indigenous perspectives in all programs, as a means of improving equity of educational outcomes for Indigenous Australian students.

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Objectives

While James Cook University is currently updating its Strategic Plan, staff continue to use the framework provided in the planning guide "JCU: Into the third Millennium" to plan future activities. JCU acknowledges the importance of its Indigenous Australian students within this document by stating that "Being located in the midst of Australia’s largest Indigenous population, the University has a relatively high proportion of Indigenous students and is particularly alert to the need to enhance cultural and intellectual understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia." Within the section on Guiding Principles, JCU "recognises and welcomes, in particular, the Indigenous students of the region," while one of the core beliefs and goals states that the university recognises, "a special responsibility to the remote, rural and Indigenous communities of our region, and will continue to develop approaches to teaching, research and course delivery that meet and support the special needs of those communities." Finally, in defining desired graduate outcomes, JCU will seek to foster in all graduates "An understanding of Indigenous issues and history as they relate to specific disciplines."

In addition to specific reference to Indigenous students in the university’s planning documents, individual schools also refer to Indigenous Australian students. For example, stated objectives for the degree programs in the School of Social Work and Community Welfare aim to produce graduates:

• who recognise and respect the racial and cultural diversity of Australian society and acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the traditional owners of Australia;

The vision statement of the School of Indigenous Australian Studies is:

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The Indigenous Australian Reference Committee is an advisory body to the Vice-Chancellor and the University. The Committee meets 4 times a year to consider strategic matters relevant to the provision of a range of Indigenous higher education programs. The committee, with approximately 80% Indigenous Australian membership, drawing Indigenous representation from throughout the University’s immediate catchment area of far north Queensland and the Torres Strait Islands.

The Indigenous Australian Working Party reports to the Human Ethics Sub-Committee of the JCU Research Committee. The Human Ethics Sub-Committee is responsible for overseeing the approval process of all research proposals which are about Indigenous issues or which involve Indigenous peoples. The Head of SIAS chairs the Indigenous Australian Working Party and is a member of the Human Ethics Sub-Committee.

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Current and Continuing Activities

• Continued focus on development and implementation of innovative flexible delivery programs.
• Schools of Indigenous Australian Studies, Social Work and Community Welfare and Education provide intensive support to students enrolled in flexible delivery mode through on-campus tutorials, teleconferencing, videoconferencing and staff visits to rural and remote locations to provide one-to-one tuition.
• The School of Social Work and Community Welfare has a number of initiatives in place to demonstrate their commitment to improving educational outcomes for Indigenous Australian students. These include:
  • "indigenising" specific subjects within their overall degree programs, eg. WS1001, WS1003 and WS2015.
  • a staff member using SSP to visit other Universities to learn more about indigenising the curriculum.
  • employing Indigenous graduates as part time tutors as the opportunity arises.
  • inviting community elders to induction and to deliver guest lectures.
  • developing professional field education placements for Indigenous students that will lead into employment opportunities.
  • organising the Sea of Hands event at the Douglas campus for National Sorry Day, 26 May, 2000, as part of the Journey of Healing.
• Staff from Social Work and Community Welfare and Occupational Therapy have participated in the Linking Indigenousness subject offered by SIAS.
• In April, 2000, three Indigenous Australian students graduated from the Bachelor of Community Welfare and one graduated with honours in the Bachelor of Social Work.
• SIAS continuing SciTAC pilot program where the focus is on preparing students through a program that enables them to be competitive in seeking entry to non-traditional areas such as medicine, science, engineering, computer science, etc.
• SIAS provides strong support to the JCU Medical School program through
  • provision of SciTAC;
  • encouraging Indigenous students in medical school to access ATAS tutoring and other SIAS support services; and
  • provision of cross-cultural training workshops for staff of Medical School.
• SIAS maintains strong collaborative relationship with local TAFE operations with particular focus developing more relevant educational pathways for access programs.
• JCU supports on-going operation of the RATEP Program through JCU partnership agreement with Queensland TAFE and Education Queensland.
• Improved profile of the research unit within SIAS through:
  • post-graduate offerings, including Masters of Indigenous Studies by Coursework and Masters by Research.
  • postgraduate Research Fellow based in SIAS
  • development of policy of selectivity that focuses SIAS research profile into the areas of Indigenous Issues and Indigenous Education.
  • establishment of links across the university has led to joint projects and teaching programs with other schools including management of Project 7 in the Rainforest CRC; a SPIRT Grant with TESAG; cross listing of research subjects (at the Masters level) with Education; two shared Small ARCs: one with Staff Development and Training and one with Social Work and Community Welfare; joint research student training arrangements with Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
• to enhance focus on development of a research culture within SIAS the following processes have been put in place:
  • encouraging new and recent researchers through places being offered in the PhD and Masters programs at SIAS. (For 2000: 10 p/t PhDs; 4 f/t and 1 p/t Masters students). One Post-Doctoral Fellow (1998-2001)
  • networks ­ School’s research web-site listing Research in Indigenous Issues at JCU and the research conducted by SIAS post graduate students and staff.
  • fast tracking scheme for staff doctorates/masters to increase the number of Indigenous Australian staff in SIAS/JCU with doctoral/masters qualifications.
  • performance related allocation of funds to provide an incentive for those contributing to the Research Quantum (e.g. funding to attend conferences and present refereed papers)
  • showcase conference each year (July 3-7, 2000) for staff/student researchers to present their work in progress
  • research training program in conjunction with the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, incorporating a monthly seminar series on research topics, skills development training and publication.
• SIAS conducting traineeship for Indigenous Australian students to gain work experience in video production through gathering of oral histories with Elders from local community groups.
• SIAS has reviewed undergraduate course to ensure outcomes are employment orientated.

• Continue to monitor preparatory programs throughout 2000.
• Develop and promote specific programs for international students enrolled in the Study Abroad program.

• To increase Indigenous participation in research projects within JCU and the broader community, through establishment of Indigenous Research Unit within JCU and active recruitment of Indigenous students in SIAS and other JCU postgraduate programs.
• To maintain focus on increasing range of flexible delivery course offerings.
• To maintain focus on recruiting Indigenous students into non-traditional areas such as medicine, science, engineering, computer science, etc.
• To maintain the collaborative relationship with local TAFE institutions to provide career pathways and to encourage TAFE students to view JCU as the next step in their further education. This will be achieved through continued focus on articulation between TAFE programs, such as the Aboriginal Rangers, Health Workers, and Indigenous Legal Studies, into the specialist strands of the BIS, such as Community Management and Development and Indigenous Law and Politics, the Bachelor of Indigenous Health and other mainstream degrees and/or double degrees.
• To maintain focus on identifying best practice, in terms of increasing retention and success rates for Indigenous students undertaking higher education programs, to inform academic staff across the University.
• To maintain focus on raising SIAS profile in JCU through the on-going implementation of programs such as the "seminar series" as a means of enhancing the valuing of Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing within the wider University community as a means of creating a more supportive learning environment for Indigenous Australian students.
• To maintain community participation in Linking Indigenousness (BIS subject) and Cross-cultural Training programs as means of increasing Indigenous self-determination.

• Track the on-going employment of graduates from a range of JCU programs offered through the School of Social Work and Community Welfare; School of Anthropology and Archaeology; School of Education; School of Indigenous Australian Studies; School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine; and the School of Nursing.
• Monitor enrolments by Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian students in SIAS courses across all levels ­ tertiary access, undergraduate and postgraduate.
• Conduct regular interviews and focus group meetings with Indigenous students to obtain feedback concerning their perceptions of the value of various activities in creating more supportive learning environments.
• Monitor additional income resulting from increased involvement of SIAS staff and Indigenous Australian students in research projects.

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Planned New Activities

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Performance and Review

JCU is currently developing a Quality Assurance strategy for implementation across the university.

SIAS monitors all national statistics and other external benchmarks and reports regularly on such issues to the Indigenous Reference Committee and all Heads of School across JCU.

The Faculty of Arts, Education and Social Sciences, through its identified SIAS liaison person, maintains regular consultation regarding issues related to the progress of Indigenous students in undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

The Library employs an Indigenous Liaison Officer who consults weekly with SIAS staff regarding issues such as acquisition of resources and needs of Indigenous students in relation to effective use of the library.

The SIAS Head of School has conducted a number of individual and focus group interviews with Indigenous Australian students during the past year to gather information concerning best practice, with a particular focus on JCU as a supportive learning environment for Indigenous students. Although there were references to some situations that were seen to reflect racist attitudes on the part of some lecturers and students, student feedback, overall, has been extremely positive and has highlighted:

• The role of SIAS (this is supported by the increasing numbers of students using the facility regularly);
• The support provided by SIAS staff;
• The value of tutorial sessions in terms of clarifying the content of lectures;
• The value of having lecturers who demonstrate an interest in the student’s progress and encourage them to express their viewpoints (this seems to manifest itself as being those lecturers who show respect for Indigenous students and are perceived as valuing cultural difference); and
• The value of university studies in terms of how they can change an individual’s perception of themselves and enable them to become more assertive (this would appear to be directly related to the process of self-empowerment although students do not express it as such).

Operating Grant Load Information

* Estimated 2000 EFTSU includes 250 reported as at 31 March and an extra 20 assuming a mid-year intake of 50 to 60 students. (1998 and 1999 saw a mid-year intake of 80 to 90 students mainly in the TAC II programs and the Diploma of Indigenous Health.)

** Planned EFTSU for 2001 and 2002 is less than planned for last year as we are starting from a smaller base in 2000 than we had previously estimated; phasing out the TAC programs and building up the undergraduate and postgraduate programs will also effect the future planned load.

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Report on Expenditure

As mentioned above, the School of Indigenous Australian Studies is committed to improving the quality of Indigenous education. The School’s annual operating budget is derived from 2 sources: an allocation based on the number of enrolments weighted according to the University’s relative funding model and 70% of the Indigenous Support funding (Total Indigenous Support funding in 2000 is $1,157,000). The remainder of the Indigenous Support funding is used to support Indigenous programs in other schools and faculties within the University.

The allocation of this grant included:

• Operating Cost, including salaries, for Indigenous support services:

The Indigenous support funding provided to the School is used for the purpose of developing and providing programs and services for Indigenous students. These include: operating costs for teaching and teaching support including the funding of staff salaries for the provision of teaching (access programs) and the administration and development of practices and support services to assist Indigenous students.

• Special Projects, including details of the projects:

N/A

• Institution Overheads:

JCU also provides substantial infrastructure and support for the teaching of Indigenous Australian students through the inclusion of Indigenous Australian curriculum content in mainstream studies in addition to those offered by the School. Compulsory studies of Indigenous Australian cultures are included in the Tropical Environmental Studies and Geography, Public Health and Tropical medicine, Education and Anthropology at both Bachelor and Masters levels. JCU has an exceptionally high level of social and scientific research to support and inform Indigenous studies embedded within degree programs.

• Other:

N/A

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Contact

Associate Professor Jeannie Herbert
Head of School
School of Indigenous Australian Studies
James Cook University, Townsville Q 4811
Ph: (07) 4781 4386
Fax: (07) 4781 4033
Email: Jeannie.Herbert@jcu.edu.au

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